A Miraculous MariChat Musical
by UnderwaterOphelia
Summary: Warning: Attempted Suicide. When Marinette is pushed to her limit, it's a good thing Chat is there to save her.
1. Chapter 1: Flowers

Note: Each chapter of this story is inspired by a song from a musical. Also this will be MariChat, though it won't have any mature content until Chapter 7 I think.

Chapter 1: Flowers (Hadestown)

"Marinette don't do this! Don't listen to Lila! You know everything she says is a lie! Your classmates will come back around, I promise! And just because Adrien ate ice cream with Kagami doesn't mean he loves her! Please Marinette don't do this!" Tikki cried while trying to reason with the crying girl climbing onto the balcony ledge.

Marinette sobbed inconsolably and resolutely took off her miraculous earrings, setting them on the ledge and whispering a goodbye to Tikki. The little kwami's frantic tugs and pleasing cries did nothing to stop her owner's forward momentum as she jumped off the fifth floor. She closed her eyes on the way down, expecting the harsh impact and sweet release it would grant her.

What she didn't anticipate was the feeling of strong arms catching her mid-fall. Swimming cerulean met concerned emerald as Chat pole vaulted them back onto Marinette's balcony and set her down.

"Why? Why did you do that?!" Marinette angrily shouted and pounded her small wrists on Chat's chest. The look he gave her when he gently grabbed those wrists and hugged her to him would have broken her heart if it hadn't been broken already.

"Princess, I could ask you the same thing. Why would you do that?" She hung her forehead to his chest in defeat as she sobbed. At her lack of an answer Chat picked up her small form and brought them down through the hatch into her room, closing it behind them.

Chat laid her down under her pink bedspread and gently wiped away her tears as he sat next to her. The tender gesture made her heartbeat stutter and when he went to move away she grasped his hand tightly. A soft "Please don't go" let her lips in a soft rush between sniffles, and Marinette thought she saw his eyes soften just a bit.

His answer was a nearly silent whisper of "Just until you fall asleep" as he reclined on her small lofted bed. As Chat stared up at Mari's ceiling hatch he waited for her breathing to even out as she fell asleep. Glancing over at a soft snore, he couldn't help but wonder what made this adorable friend of his attempt suicide. The mere thought of it was enough to send panic shivers down his spine.

He tentatively moved to open the hatch and make his escape before Plagg started beeping at him, but he stopped once he was out on the balcony. There in front of his, slightly crushed and tossed away, were the flowers he'd bought for Ladybug intending to give them to her on patrol. White lilies for purity interspersed with red poppies for his love for her. As he picked the bouquet up, he wondered why she hadn't shown up.

He nearly threw away the symbol of his rejected love, but thought better of it when his eyes strayed to the still open hatch. Better to let them cheer someone up, even if it wasn't Ladybug. Deftly slipping into her room, he snapped up a pen and wrote a quick note on her stationary.

**Hey there Purrincess,**

**Even alleycats have to go home eventually, but if you ever need me or want to _ChitChat_, download the **_**Bonjour**_ **texting app and find me at that name! Purrhaps I'll drop back in tomorrow?**

**Pawsomely Yours,**

**Chat **

After straightening the bouquet up a bit and leaving it with the note on the pillow he'd laid on, Chat exited her bedroom just in time to hear his Miraculous beep. With a sigh, he launched himself towards the Agreste mansion and worried about Mari the whole way home. He hoped she'd actually message him tomorrow, though he'd make sure to check on her after patrol tomorrow night.

As he detransformed in his room and looked at the clock, Adrien sighed at the thought that he'd only be getting a few hours of sleep. Throwing a piece of cheese at a whining Plagg, he bellyflopped into bed, barely even opening one eye to look at the little kwami when Plagg moved to lay on his pillow.

Three hours later and across town, Tikki woke Marinette up by nuzzling into her face and making her promise to not attempt suicide again. As a lone tear fell down Marinette's face, she turned to where Chat had laid last night and saw the flowers and note. Touching the soft petals to her face as she downloaded _Bonjour_, she couldn't help but quirk her lips in a half smile at the thought of Chat. At least she knew someone would miss her.

Maybe today wouldn't be so bad.


	2. Chapter 2: Say My Name

Note: This chapter was inspired by the song Say My Name from the musical Beetlejuice.

An unknown chime from Adrien's phone startled him as he walked out of their senior level classroom at the end of the day. Smiling down at the screen as he walked out to the limo, he waited until he was in the backseat to accept the _Bonjour _contact request from a certain "MariBerry".

**ChitChat: **I'm pawsitively glad you requested me Purrincess.

**MariBerry: **Geez Chat you even type in cat puns *facepalm*

**ChitChat: **It's a gift ;)

**MariBerry: **On a serious note… thanks for being here Chat. I don't exactly have a lot of friends at the moment.

**ChitChat: **Anytime you need to talk or need me there, just let me know. Fur real.

Adrien looked up from the app to see that they were arriving at the photoshoot he was scheduled for. Sending off a swift explanation to Marinette that he'd be busy on and off for a few hours for his job, he let the makeup and photographers do what they do best. His upbeat mood must have shown on his face though, as the shoot went twice as fast as normal.

Three extracurriculars later and Adrien was finally home. Even though Plagg was chattering on in his ear about how boring fencing was earlier and how hungry he is, Adrien's whole focus was wrapped up in his chat with Marinette. She was surprisingly easy to talk to when he was being Chat, her stutter magically gone when he wasn't being Adrien. That thought depressed him a bit.

Sighing as he signed off, saying he was going on patrol, his bone weary body pulled itself up. He really needed to eat more for his activity level. It was even starting to get noticed by Natalie, as she'd noted at his last measurements that he was gaining too much muscle, and had ordered him to drop half of the gym sessions for a while.

Whispering a soft "Plagg, claws out" and jumping out of the window, he made his way to the usual patrol meetup spot. Within minutes he was wondering where LB was, but when he saw Ladybug's kwami flying towards him, he started to worry.

"Tikki, where's Ladybug? Is she okay? It's not like her to miss two nights in a row, even if Hawkmoth hasn't attacked much in the last year." With a small shake of her head the kwami of creation explained to Chat that Ladybug needed some time off, but that she'd show up if an akuma came up. Chat could definitely sympathize, needing a bit of a break after all these years.

"Alright, well maybe I'll just shorten the patrol amount a bit. It might be nice to get some extra sleep in afterwards." He didn't mention his plan to see Marinette on the off chance that Tikki would tell Ladybug. He wasn't sure what his feelings for his bugaboo were now that she'd stood him up again. Chat had sworn to himself that last night's flowers were the last effort, the last chance he was going to try before accepting defeat, and instead of Ladybug he'd given them to Mari.

Oh well, what's done is done. With one final look over the Parisian skyline, Chat headed down to the 21st arrondissement to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. Knocking twice on the hatch, he wasn't surprised when Marinette opened it for him and he climbed right in.

Sitting criss-crossed on her bedspread, he made a note of the changes in her room that had happened through the years. Mari had matured as they drew closer to adulthood, taken down some of the Adrien posters, toned down the pinks, and there were even a few clothes strewn on the floor. Chat blushed and looked away from that after realizing that a very lacy bra could be seen peeking out of the basket nearby.

Marinette bounced down onto her little nest of pillows and smiled softly, joking in an attempt to lighten the mood that it was the first time she'd had a boy in her bed. At his cheshire grin and cheeky response of "I could be a few more of those firsts if you'd let me be", Mari swatted him with a pillow and they dissolved into a heap of laughter. Actual, real laughter, for the first time in a long time.

"So Purrincess, how was your day? Feline any better?" His cocky grin and hopeful attitude lightened her heart ever so slightly. Marinette giggled and pulled a pillow to her chest.

"It was better when I was talking to you, silly kitty." The slight uptick of his lips and his shoulders sagging showed Chat's relief at the words. A moment passed before the words slipped out "These last few weeks have been rough." Marinette shifted her eyes downward as her companion patiently waited for her to continue.

"I-I haven't really been myself lately. There's this girl in my class who's constantly bullying me and she says the most hurtful things I've ever heard. She even turned most of my friends against me when she lied and said that I was the one bullying her and being jealous. I guess the thing that hurt the most yesterday was when she told me that my last friend, Adrien, wouldn't want to be friends anymore now that he's got a girlfriend. Her name's Kagami and she's great, but she knows I used to have a crush on him."

Chat's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline in shock, and he covered her hand with his in a tender gesture. "I'm sure that's not true Marinette. I'm sure Adrien didn't know you had a crush on him and wouldn't end your friendship over it. And even if something happens, you'll have me." Looking up at Chat, she smiled and returned his hand-holding.

"Can I let you in on a secret?" At her nod, Chat said "I can't be myself when I'm a civilian. This is the real me, and it's so freeing when I'm Chat. I don't have many friends either, with how busy my normal life is, but that's why I value our talks so much Marinette."

"Please always be yourself around me Chat. Cat puns and all." They shared a soft look and half smile as Marinette snuggled into the covers and he waited for her to drift off. Brushing a lock of hair away from her face, Chat found himself savoring the touch a bit, and then quietly let himself out of her room.


	3. Chapter 3: Apex Predator

This chapter was inspired by the Song Apex Predator in the musical Mean Girls.

"You know, Dupain-Cheng, you should really just put Lila in her place already." The unexpected comment from Chloe seemed to ring in the air around Marinette in the bathroom between classes. "She's such a pest honestly, and she lies with every breath. I don't know why you don't just call her out on her bullshit. You know she even tried to turn Sabrina against me? As if."

A soft snort from Marinette drew Chloe's stare away from the mirror. "I can't do that Chloe. Everyone believes her over me." With a roll of her eyes Chloe scoffed and applied the last smudge of lipgloss.

"That's because you let them. You need to have more self 're pretty, thin, and your ass is good too." Looking her up and down assessing, Chloe added "What exactly does she have over you?" Marinette contemplated how much to share before leaning her hip on the sink and looking directly at Chloe.

"She's turned everyone but Adrien, and maybe you, against me." Marinette bit her lip as she assessed the girl in front of her. "She's been saying things like I'll never get a boyfriend, or that Adrien won't stick around now that he's got Kagami, or that everyone hates me. Plus she tells everyone that I'm the one bullying her! So it looks bad when I try to stick up for myself."

Tapping her lips, Chloe simply said, "Well you have two options: roll over and take it, or fight back. Her biggest weapon against you is what she can say to you or about you. So start ignoring her. Or even better, prove her wrong. Sit with us at lunch, hang out with Adrien in public, go on dates and be spotted. Listen, you and I have never been friendly before, but I'm tired of Lila and her stupid scheming, so let's get rid of her."

Holding out her hand, Chloe waited expectedly for Marinette to make her choice. Nodding firmly, Marinette agreed and they shook on it. And so began an uneasy truce between predator and prey.

Marinette chewed over the meaning behind those words later during lunch as she sat at the table with Adrien, Sabrina, and Chloe. When they'd grabbed Adrien and told him their plan, he'd simply lifted an eyebrow and shrugged.

"I know Lila's a liar and a bad person. I'm glad you're ready to stand up to her Marinette." A year ago the devilish grin Adrien gave her would have reduced her to stutters and stopped her heart, but now it just warmed her a bit. Strangely enough, now all it did was make her think of Chat's mischievous grin. She looked down at her phone and read over his latest messages from today. They were certainly a bit… flirtier today than before.

Could… could Chat actually mean some of these? Or was he just being his normal flirty Chat Noir? Hmm, Chloe had encouraged her to go on dates. Maybe Chat was interested in her? Or maybe he would at least pretend to date her so she could prove Lila wrong. He was certainly drool worthy enough to inspire jealousy, she could tell from that suit that he'd filled out quite nicely over the years.

Blushing and shaking her head, she thought about the logistics of a relationship with Chat. But what about his secret identity? Maybe… maybe they could go in civilian clothes in public, but with a mask on? Mind going a mile a minute, slowly an idea formed as she vaguely listened to her lunch mates talking in the background. One of Chat's messages chimed and alerted Chloe to Marinette's divided attention span.

"Dupain-Cheng, are you holding out on me? Just who have you been texting so much all day? Already moving on from poor Adrien here to some mysterious texting buddy?" Her cocked eyebrow and frank questions made everyone else at the table start to chuckle awkwardly.

"Actually, kind of yeah. I uh, can't tell other people who he is yet, but we've been texting all day yesterday and today." At her blush Chloe smirked and looked over her shoulder.

"Wow, yeah he is… a flirty one isn't he? Hm, what a naughty boy. I bet he's cute too. How long have you known him? Do you think he'd be willing to be seen in public with you to get back at Lila?" Adrien nearly choked on his drink but no one noticed as they read down some of Chat's most recent texts.

"He said he wanted to come over tonight? What a perv." With a snort Chloe sat back down and stared intently at Marinette "But do you think you could get him to go on a date publicly? Somewhere everyone will see?" Marinette could only shrug.

"Oh you should invite him to the birthday party that Daddy is throwing me at the hotel this Saturday! I'm inviting literally everyone in our school. It's gonna be a costume party too, since Halloween is coming up. Now that I'm eighteen we can all get drunk and crazy! And then you can show off your mystery man."

Chloe's excitement was contagious and Marinette found herself smiling and biting her lip. Typing out an invitation to Chat, she hit send and prayed he'd come with her. His instant reply of "Paw-some!" had her grinning in no time and looking forward to Saturday. But then Marinette thought to herself, "Wait it's already Wednesday! What am I going to wear?!"


	4. Chapter 4: All I've Ever Known

Note: This chapter was inspired by the song All I've Ever Known from the musical Hadestown.

Marinette felt bad for faking sick to stay home and start on her costume, but honestly she deserved a mental health day once in a while. Sitting on her balcony in the sunlight with Tikki curled up in her lap was one of the most peaceful things she'd felt in a while. As she stared down at the sketches she'd been making all morning, she couldn't help but think of Chat, since that's all she'd been able to draw.

Why were all her costume ideas coming out as variations of him? Would she be bold enough to actually design and wear a halloween costume based on Chat? Would he hate that? Thinking it over she decided that no, he'd probably enjoy the ego boost. Blushing, she admitted he'd probably also enjoy the view, because all of her sketches were more revealing than anything she'd ever designed before. Finished with the design phase, she gently picked Tikki up and headed back down into her bedroom.

In the end she decided to go a bit on the more risque side. After all, she'd turned eighteen earlier this year, so she was officially an adult, and she wanted to feel beautiful and sexy sometimes too. And maybe it was also the fact that Chat would be there too. She wasn't really sure what this was between them yet, but all she knew was that he sparked something inside her that she'd only felt with Adrien before. Maybe she couldn't explore that side of Chat as Ladybug, but as Marinette, she was ready to explore this.

Critically eyeing the black lycra fabric in her hands, Marinette realized she was really doing this. She was thinking of creating a leotard rather than a full bodysuit, since it would be so warm inside a raging party. Tossing the fabric onto her with a nod, she dug through the accessories in the back of her closet and found some old scraps of black leather. It looked like it would be just enough for a collar around her neck and a tail. She'd have to go to a craft store to buy a bell but at least she already had sheer black stocking thigh-highs that attached to a garter belt she could wear underneath it. That would allow just a few inches of bare skin to peek out below the edge of the leotard's boyshort hem.

Of course, that wouldn't be the only skin she'd be showing, she thought as she cut and then pinned the fabric to her mannequin. She traced the outline of where she wanted the collar to attach to create the low cut keyhole neckline, and then decided to make the keyhole even more revealing. A few hours of cutting, pinning, adjusting, and sewing later and she had a nearly completed Chat Noir costume lying on the chaise in front of her.

A light rap against the windowpane of her hatch had her gasping and scrambling to hide the costume under the chaise pillows. She climbed up the ladder to her lofted bed just as Chat was dropping himself down the hatch, and the sight of muscles bunching and flexing under the suit stopped her in her tracks. At his grin, she realized she was staring and quickly hopped onto the bed and shimmied over to get comfortable on the pillows. Laying on her side to face him, she patted the pillow next to her expectantly.

Marinette watched his eyes travel down her body, landing on the soft swell of her hips under the pajama boy shorts and then down to her bare legs. With a shake of his head to clear his thoughts, Chat spread out on the other side of the bed on his belly to hide his body's reaction and turned his neck to face her. The suit may be magical, but it wasn't exactly roomy enough to hide anything.

"So Princess, what's this I'm hearing about being your plus one to a certain birthday-halloween party? Any plans on what you'll be dressing as?" His mischievous smirk set her cheeks on fire as she thought about what she'd be wearing.

"You'll just have to be happily surprised, Chaton. Just come in the suit though. It is a costume party, after all." She smiled over at him and nudged her hand into his, feeling in a sweet romantic mood. He one upped her though, and pulled her to him, shifting so that they were chest to chest with his arm around her waist.

"Cum in the suit, eh? Didn't think your mind was that dirty purrincess." His deep chuckle sent shivers down her spine as she blushed cherry red. "That blush is a good look on you Marinette." He nuzzled her nose with his in an affectionate gesture that had her smiling shyly back.

"Isn't this a little, fur-miliar Chat? What would your Lady think if she saw us now?" Her lips were just a hair's breadth from his, the words warm on his grin as she whispered to him. Chat was truly loving the puns she was making lately.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to LB lately. While she may be my partner in crime, I guess you could say I've been looking for a partner of a different kind." Marinette felt her breath hitch as she looked into his eyes that were filled with hopeful longing. Her eyelids fluttered downwards and she closed that small distance between their lips with a hesitant kiss.

Her lips were sweet, as if she'd just eaten one of her parent's macarons. Chat couldn't suppress the groan he released as he pulled away from her before he took this further than they were ready. As he shifted away a bit Marinette inadvertently felt the brush of his arousal on her hip and blushed.

Embarrassed out of his mind, Chat managed to clear his throat, give her a quick goodnight kiss on the forehead, and leap out of her room. Dazed, Marinette brought trembling fingers up to her lips and smiled happily. Falling back on her pillow, she saw Tikki come out of hiding. A soft whisper of "I can't believe I kissed him Tikki" had the little kwami smiling as she cuddled up on Marinette's pillow for the night.


	5. Chapter 5: For Forever

Note: This chapter was inspired by the song For Forever from the musical Dear Evan Hansen.

When Adrien's phone chimed at the end of the school day on Friday he expected it to be from the Bonjour app, but was a bit surprised to see Kagami's name pop up. He hated that they had to continue this farce of a relationship to get their parents to let them out of the house unchaperoned. At least Kagami was understanding, and didn't mind that they were using each other. She looked at it as a logical agreement with mutual benefits.

Looking down at the text, he quickly replied to her request for a "date" tonight, agreeing so that after they ditched each other he could transform into Chat and see Marinette. Whenever Kagami wanted one of these fake dates it was normally so she could go meet girls down at the local gay bars. That had been a shock for sure with how much she'd pursued him a few years ago, but when they talked through it afterwards she'd come out to him as bisexual.

Shrugging his shoulders as he walked into the manor, he informed Natalie about the date and went upstairs to get ready. After a long shower and glancing over the contents of his closet, he chose one of the few non-Gabriel outfits he had, a simple pair of jeans and a black long sleeved button up shirt. Putting the velvet Chat Noir mask he'd picked up earlier in his pants pocket, he nodded to himself, resolved that he'd ask her out on a real date tonight. After grabbing the bag he'd packed full of picnic supplies, Adrien shooed Plagg into his shirt and went downstairs.

Knowing that his father and Natalie wouldn't expect him back until late tonight, he let the Gorilla drive him to the restaurant he'd supposedly be having dinner with Kagami at, and watched as the limo drove away. He was always surprised that Gabriel let him out and about on these dates unsupervised, but he supposed it was because he was eighteen now and it probably helped that Kagami was someone Gabriel approved him to date. He'd probably never get this much leeway if he had been dating Marinette.

Speaking of, he'd have to talk to Kagami about eventually "breaking up" once he decided to go public with Marinette. He'd probably have to save up to move out of the mansion before that happened though. His father wouldn't be able to control him then. And he'd definitely have to reveal his identity in order to date her.

Shaking his head, he met up with Kagami and made their obligatory purchase from the small cafe, just in case his father was looking in on his debit card financials. They'd made it a point to never tell their parents where they went after the drop off point, so that they wouldn't be followed. He had the cafe wrap up the food to go so that he could share with Marinette.

Waving to Kagami as they both left out the side door and ditched each other, Adrien looked down at his phone and saw it was nearly time for him to be at Marinette's. Slipping into an alley nearby, he put on the fake Chat mask, transformed into Chat Noir, and leapt across Paris straight onto Marinette's balcony. After getting no response to this taps on the glass hatch, he decided to set up the picnic on the balcony, and then let himself in and settled onto the bed.

When Marinette finally came up the stairs into her room, it was clear that she had just showered since she only had on a towel. Before he could even say anything to alert her to his presence, she had turned towards her clothes chest and draped the towel across a hook. Blushing and eyes widening at the swath of perfect pale skin before him, he finally managed to turn his head up to look at the ceiling.

"As much as I love the view purrincess, you may want to look around your room next time before undressing." Her shocked gasp almost drew his eyes but he steadfastly looked up at the ceiling in a vain attempt at being a gentleman.

Snickering as he heard Marinette flail about the room getting dressed as fast as she could, he finally looked over as she climbed the ladder to the bed. He stood, jumped up the hatch to the balcony, and held out his hand to help her out.

"Chat what are we doing… out..." Her words trailed off when she looked up and saw the picnic spread out across her small balcony. Candles dotted the ground here and there, and twinkling fairy lights draped off the parapet. On top of a lavish blanket and pillow spread, a small bucket held ice and a bottle of champagne in front of a large takeout bag from a cafe a few blacks over.

"We're having our first date. That is, if you'll say yes?" A moment of insecurity flashed across his face, but he found it was completely unfounded when she nodded furiously and jumped into his arms for a hug. At his soft whisper of "Plagg, claws in" she gasped and covered her eyes with her hands, only for him to reassure her and pull her hands down.

The bright smile plastered across her lips when she saw his civilian clothes and the black velvet mask covering his face was the most radiant thing he'd ever seen.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone!

I've moved all my stories onto Ao3 due to 's content policies about explicit writing. Find me at Archive of our Own with the username UnderwaterOphelia and see all the updates I've posted! I'm also on Tumblr, and my username is underwater0phelia, with a zero instead of the letter o. Hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Ophelia


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